2011 CPAC Presidential Straw Poll Results

Texas Congressman Ron Paul won the CPAC presidential straw poll this afternoon gaining 30% of the vote, with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney coming in second with 23%.

Other candidates in the straw poll lagged far behind – former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin got only 3% of the vote.

The results for the other candidates:

Former NM Gov. Gary Johnson: 6%

NJ Gov. Chris Christie: 6%

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich: 5%

Former MN Governor Tim Pawlenty: 4%

MN Congresswoman Michele Bachmann: 4%

IN Governor Mitch Daniels: 4%

Former AK Governor Sarah Palin: 3%

Herman Cain: 2%

Former AR Governor Mike Huckabee: 2%

Former PA Sen. Rick Santorum: 2%

SD Senator John Thune: 2%

Former UT Gov. Jon Huntsman: 1%

MS Gov. Haley Barbour: 1%

Other: 5%

Ron Paul’s victory was expected – perhaps the most united group of attendees at the conference were young libertarians. 49% of respondents were between the ages of 18 and 25, and Paul’s Campaign for Liberty had reportedly bought 1,000 tickets for the conference.

So does a CPAC straw Poll win guarantee that the winner will go on to become the Republican Nominee? That answer is easy, No! The last time the winner of the staw poll became the nominee was eleven years ago when George Bush won the straw poll at CPAC.

CPAC Straw Poll Not Predictive of Eventual Nominee

The last time the poll winner has matched an eventual GOP presidential nominee, it was 2000, when George W. Bush won both the CPAC poll and the Republican nod. Indeed, while it’s hard to say the poll results predict anything, they do provide some insights into candidates’ strengths.

Albert Milliron is the founder of Politisite. Milliron has been credentialed by most major news networks for Presidential debates and major Political Parties for political event coverage. Albert maintains relationships with the White House and State Department to provide direct reporting from the Administration’s Press team. Albert is the former Public Relations Chairman of the Columbia County Republican Party in Georgia. He is a former Delegate.
Milliron is a veteran of the US Army Medical Department and worked for Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Psychiatry.